GHAURUL HASAN Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an application by Ghaurul Hasan s/o Rahim Bux, Abdul Bari s/o Abdul ganni, Mohammad Ayub s/o Ab. iul Ganni, Tahira Begum wife of Ghaurul Hasan, vlst. Zebunnisa wife of Abdul Bari and Z. unurnd Begum wife of Mahammad Ayub under Article 226 of the Constitution challenging the order of the District magistrate of Nagaur, dated the 8th of February 1957 by which the registration certificates issued to the applicants under the Citizenship Act (No. 57 of 1955)hereinafter called the Act, were cancelled and they were ordered to return to pakistan within three days, failing which they would be deported according to law.

(2.) THE case of the applicants was briefly this. The applicants were all horn in India, as it was before the partition of 1947. They migrated from the territory of India, as it is, after the partition of 1947 to the iterritory of Pakistan sometime in the year 1947. Thereafter they came to India on two occasions on temporary visits after obtaining passports and tried to obtain certificate for permanent settlement in india. Apparently they did not get the certificate for permanent settlement in india, though they have not said so in so many words. Ultimately they came to india in 1956 on the basis of passports issued to them by Pakistan. In December 1956 they applied under Section 5 of the Act for registration as citizens of India to the Collector of Nagaur within whose jurisdiction they were then residing. The collector, after making enquiries, issued to them certificates of registration as citizens of India under Section 5 (1) (a) and their passports were cancelled and deposited in the Collector's Office. This happened in December 1956. But in feb. uary 1957, the Collector cancelled the certificates of registration issued by him in December 1950 and told them that they must leave India or they would be deported according to law. Aggrieved by this order, the applicants filed the present application and their contention is that the Collector had no authority to cancel the certificate granted by him under Section 5 (1) (a) of the Act and that as they became citizens of India by virtue of these certificates the Collector had no authority to threaten to deport them if they did not leave India within the time allowed to them.

(3.) THE application has been opposed on behalf of the State and it is urged that the collector had no jurisdiction to grant the certificates of citizenship under Section 5 (i) (a ). Reliance in this connection was placed on explanation (3) to Section 5 (1 ). It is also urged that as the applicants had migrated from India to Pakistan after march 1957, they lost their Indian citizenship and became citizens of Pakistan under Article 7 of the Constitution Therelore, they cannot be said to be ordinarily residents in India and even Section 5 (1) (a) did not apply to them. As or the order asking them to leave India, it was said that as the applicants were not citizens of India, they were asked to leave the country as their visas had expired and the Central Government had refused to grant them any long term visas as far back as August 1956.